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Wilderness Man: The Strange Story of Grey Owl
The biography of Archie Belaney, an Englishman who adopted Native American customs and changed his name to Grey Owl. It includes Grey Owl's life as a trapper in Northern Ontario, his Canadian army service, during World War I, and subsequent career as a conservationist.
281 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 30, 2009
If you think you are stuck in a rut...you can always recreate yourself.
A remarkable true story of one English boy's dream of the Canadian Wilderness and his convincing recreation of himself as a North American Indian - who lived the life of his dreams and ahead of his time lectured on conservation.
A remarkable true story of one English boy's dream of the Canadian Wilderness and his convincing recreation of himself as a North American Indian - who lived the life of his dreams and ahead of his time lectured on conservation.
August 30, 2025
Archie Belaney, who grew up in a well-off, middle class English home, travelled to Canada and reinvented himself as a half Apache tracker, hunter and wildlife expert called Grey Owl. Later, he gave up trapping animals for fur and instead, began to work towards their conservation, something that was very unusual for his time. He achieved fame as a lecturer and writer, and his deception was only discovered after his death.
It's been interesting to read this book while the debate over the Salt Path's untruthfulness is still rumbling on, with all the questions it raises about the accuracy of 'factual' books. For what it's worth, I think that 'Grey Owl's' books are valid, since although the author was pretending to be someone he was not, the information he was conveying in his books, about the wildlife and people of his area, was true. It seems that he was so desperate to be of Indian descent that he almost managed to convince himself that he was.
It must have been a huge shock for Lovat Dickson, Belaney's British publisher, to find out how he had been deceived by the man who seems to have become his friend as well as one of his best-selling authors. He writes movingly of how he tried to disprove the claims that Grey Owl was really English and how eventually, he was forced to accept the truth. Once he had accepted the truth, he seemed determined to throw the best possible light on it, making much of Belaney's difficult childhood and traumatic wartime experiences in an attempt to justify his behaviour.
This, for me, is what spoils the book. While 'Grey Owl' undeniably had a beneficial impact on conservation in Canada, and his books make fascinating reading today, he was a deeply flawed man who treated many people very badly. He attempted to murder his aunt, fathered several children whom he made no attempt to support, committed bigamy twice, and used verbal and physical violence to control others. As I read through the book, I became increasingly annoyed with Dickson's attempts to explain away this behaviour as being due to Belaney's highly strung nature.
It's been interesting to read this book while the debate over the Salt Path's untruthfulness is still rumbling on, with all the questions it raises about the accuracy of 'factual' books. For what it's worth, I think that 'Grey Owl's' books are valid, since although the author was pretending to be someone he was not, the information he was conveying in his books, about the wildlife and people of his area, was true. It seems that he was so desperate to be of Indian descent that he almost managed to convince himself that he was.
It must have been a huge shock for Lovat Dickson, Belaney's British publisher, to find out how he had been deceived by the man who seems to have become his friend as well as one of his best-selling authors. He writes movingly of how he tried to disprove the claims that Grey Owl was really English and how eventually, he was forced to accept the truth. Once he had accepted the truth, he seemed determined to throw the best possible light on it, making much of Belaney's difficult childhood and traumatic wartime experiences in an attempt to justify his behaviour.
This, for me, is what spoils the book. While 'Grey Owl' undeniably had a beneficial impact on conservation in Canada, and his books make fascinating reading today, he was a deeply flawed man who treated many people very badly. He attempted to murder his aunt, fathered several children whom he made no attempt to support, committed bigamy twice, and used verbal and physical violence to control others. As I read through the book, I became increasingly annoyed with Dickson's attempts to explain away this behaviour as being due to Belaney's highly strung nature.
September 5, 2022
I first came across the story of Archie Belaney, aka Grey Owl, several years ago and found it rather amazing. This is Canada's Thoreau, its John Muir, and yet he seems to be treated more as a historical oddity today than as the cause celebre he was at the apex of his career as a writer and conservationist. If he is remembered today it is often accompanied by epithets such as "impostor" or "charlatan", and if this book does anything well it is to dispel such terms as so many irrelevant sticks and stones. Did he claim to be of aboriginal ancestry when he knew it wasn't so? Yes. Did he nonetheless identify as an Indian far more than as a white man? Undoubtedly. Does that make any difference? I leave that for others to debate. What is not up for debate is his commitment to living in close consort with the Canadian wilderness and its animal inhabitants, first as a trapper and then, owing largely to the influence of his undoubtedly First Nations wife, Anahareo, as a defender of the animal world as having rights of its own. Anyone who has read his works cannot deny his talent as a writer and his ability to communicate effectively about the behavior and, yes, the emotions of wild creatures (especially beavers). This account is written by a man who at first sought to defend Grey Owl against charges of false identity, only to be persuaded of their truth at last, but who then returned to the subject to defend him as one whose work is more important than his person. While there are more up-to-date, scholarly, and detailed accounts of Grey Owl's life and legacy available, there are few if any that have the air of sympathy and friendship of this one, written by a friend and agent. That Archie Belaney was a deeply flawed human being who played fast and loose with the truth of his own biography is beyond question, but so too is the fact that as Grey Owl he bequeathed a lasting legacy we ignore or ridicule only to our own impoverishment and at our own peril.
May 24, 2025
I’m going to rate this a little higher than I think it deserves, mostly because it’s an older book, 197os and non-fiction. It’s the story of an English boy, raised by aunts after his parents fail to care for him. Like many young people at the turn of the century, he’s fascinated by the North American wilderness and animals.
At age 17 he boards a ship and sails to Canada, telling his aunts he’ll study farming. Instead he dives into the wilds and begins learning from First Nations people how to survive and live with the land.
He appreciates and respects these people and begins to develop a persona of an Indian, never correcting assumptions of heritage and even defending it even though untrue.
He uses his knowledge and experience of animals after he and his third wife shares with him a love for two orphaned beaver kittens. He’s what we’d call a conservationist and through his writing we can hear his love for his adopted culture.
At age 17 he boards a ship and sails to Canada, telling his aunts he’ll study farming. Instead he dives into the wilds and begins learning from First Nations people how to survive and live with the land.
He appreciates and respects these people and begins to develop a persona of an Indian, never correcting assumptions of heritage and even defending it even though untrue.
He uses his knowledge and experience of animals after he and his third wife shares with him a love for two orphaned beaver kittens. He’s what we’d call a conservationist and through his writing we can hear his love for his adopted culture.
September 9, 2022
Well written, heartfelt account of an unusual man's adventure into the backwoods of Canada. The author was also his publisher and friend. The adventure begins in his imagination as a boy in England who loves wildlife and the stories of the Indians of N. America. After he immigrates to Canada, he is adopted by first nations people for 13 years, then goes on his own as a trapper, conservationist, public speaker and author of his own story which is summarized here.
December 9, 2016
Amazing story written by an amazing author, publisher and editor (my great uncle). Third of three books written by the author about the life of the man known as Grey Owl, Englishman Archie Belaney.
May 30, 2020
Interesting. I love the beavers.
July 4, 2022
Would give this a 3.5 - good read. Interesting story of man living the life he should have been born into.
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July 25, 2011I would call this light readung . I t was amazing how an Englishman could have gotten away with this and not been detected . He must have been laughting to himsekf more than once .
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews